The VCU Southern Film Festival

Feb. 24 and 25

The Virginia Commonwealth University Southern Film Festival, now in its third year, was created to portray the various characteristics of the region onscreen. It also brings together films and commentary from the creators. This year’s theme, “Screening Southern Rebellion,” focuses on Southern rebels from the Civil War to the present. Movies include “American Rebel,” a documentary that shows how “Gone With the Wind” author Margaret Mitchell defined and fought against Southern culture through her personal life and her writing; “The Thrillbillys,” a neo-noir thriller that follows Dodger Cole’s attempts to take back the South from Yankee industrialists; “Shenandoah,” which tells the story of a Virginia farmer who tries to remain neutral during the Civil War; “The Black Six,” in which six bikers, all played by NFL stars, travel throughout the South to avenge the death of a comrade; and “Freedom on My Mind,” a documentary telling the story of the Mississippi freedom movement in the early 1960s. Post-film discussions will feature actors, writers and directors from each of the films, including John Wiley and Ellen Brown (authors of “Margaret Mitchell’s Gone with the Wind”), filmmakers Jim Stramel, Connie Field and Marilyn Mulford and NFL Hall of Fame linebacker Willie Lanier. The festival takes place at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Grace Street Theater and Cous Cous Restaurant on Feb. 24 and 25. $4-$8 per film. Full lineup and screen times at wp.vcu.edu/sff.